Gymnastics for the Non-Olympian — Have the Olympics caused your daughter to beg you to enroll her in gymnastics classes? Go ahead and enroll her! Gymnastics classes teach children not just fitness skills but social skills too! [Parenting Squad]

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Well another Olympics has come and gone and billions across the globe can get back to normal living without having to defy body clocks and going to work exhausted because they were up half the night watching.

Nice that you have put a nice little combo of articles together but the one that caught my eye was related to the price of raising an Olympian. Well of course, much of this depends on what country you live and the kind of facilities available.

It was noticeable that the UK fared rather well and I know of a young lad who was tipped to be a top triple jumper in the UK. Unfortunately, he endured some bouts of mental illness, schizophrenia, and it ended his potential career.

However, when things was going well for him he had a lot of support simply by joining an athletic club Birchfield Harriers in Birmingham, and he had every facility laid on for him including sporting rehabilitation from injury, the help of top coaches and some superb training facilities.

It was striking how much help he got and he was not from a wealthy family and I don’t think he had to pay out very much at all it was all there and I think it was government assisted. He is of an age now where if misfortune had not fallen on him he would be at his peak now.